Can you believe that in September Oak Life will have it's 3rd "Sprout-day"? It's crazy to think about all the ways our community has been shaped and formed over the past 30+ months, and all the stories God is writing in our midst. As we begin to enter a new season we've got a few cool updates we'd like to share, and we'd also like to invite you to enter more deeply into what God is doing in and through Oak Life.

The first update is that we're officially our own non-profit! As a start up we've been under the non-profit umbrella of our sending church, CrossWinds, who has been super supportive since we've started, but now we've reached a new stage in our life as our own independent church.

The next really encouraging news is that for the past few months our community has been paying all of our own bills and then some! God is good! Even though this is our initial budget that will need to grow for sustainability, this is incredibly awesome, as most church start ups aren't financially self sufficient until about year 4 or 5. Though we do a lot with a little, as we continue to mature as a church , we will definitely need our budget to grow in order to be sustainable long term.

Another cool thing is that over the next year we'll be entering into a deeper relationship with our friends in the homeless camp as one of our community members begins a seminary internship living in the camp and partnering with Oak Life.

Finally, we're really excited to announce that starting July 1st, we'll be hiring Greg full time as Program and Worship Director! This is a huge step for our scrappy start up church and will really help us continue to become all that Oak Life can be. That said, this will increase our budget going into next year, something our Leadership Team has discerned is both very doable and the right move as we grow.

Pretty neat, right?

In order for us to keep Oak Life-ing, it will require all of us to join in on what God is doing, and part of this is financial generosity.

So, we totally acknowledge that money is a conversation churches have often done poorly, so we' like to be as transparent as we possible can be.

Over the past few years our annual budget has been around 90,000. That breaks down to about 7,500 per month. This budget is incredibly small (the average church plant has a budget of around 150,000), and we do a lot with a little (have you seen our projector set up?). Next year our Leadership Team has decided to increase our budget to about 140,000 which comes out to 11,670 per month. While that might seem like a large increase, our current community generosity is about 9,000 per month and we've got some money in reserves as well. At the bottom of the page you'll find an overly simplified breakdown of our budget for this year and next. In the future we'll also need to add some budget in order to develop kids programs as well and when we can afford it.

Here is the thing. We've never really made a big deal about money because it's not why we do what we do at Oak Life, so we've never really made a big ask of folks to consider giving back to Oak Life at a deeper level. So we'd sincerely invite folks who are connected to Oak Life or believe in what God is doing to pray about what generosity might look like for them. For us to meet our budget it probably only means that about 150 of us contribute $78 per month. For some of us that might seem like a lot, and for others that might seem like peanuts. Wherever you're at, please know that you're welcome and invited to be a part of Oak Life no matter what, but we wanted to be open and transparent with our financial needs because we believe that what is being created at Oak Life is truly beautiful, and relatively cheap. So please consider practicing generosity towards Oak Life so that the story God is writing in and through us will only continue to grow deeper and wider.

One of the easiest ways to be a part of what's going on at Oak Life financially is to set up a recurring donation on our generosity page. Or take a look at some of our one time needs to see if you can help.

More than anything, we hope you're encouraged by all that God is doing.

If you've got any questions at all about our budget or finances, please don't hesitate to reach out, this is a conversation that we don't enter into lightly!

Oak Life Needs and Budget at a Glance

Total third Sunday donations to outside causes over past 18 months: 13,000 + and ongoing

2016-2017 Budget:90,000 annually7,500 monthlyExpenses breakdown:-Full time Pastor-Part time Worship Director-Rent at the New Parkway-Rent at the Freedom Story Office-One time stipend for Pastoral Resident / Intern-Miscellaneous ministry expenses (website, coffee/snacks, AV equipment)-Third Sunday donations to outside causes not included

2017-2018 Budget140,000 Annually11,666 monthlyExpenses breakdown:-Full time Pastor-Full Time Worship and Program Director-Rent at the New Parkway-Rent at the Freedom Story Office-Miscellaneous ministry expenses (website, coffee/snacks, AV equipment)-Third Sunday donations to outside causes not included